Second Dungeons & Dragons Product for Fall 2018: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Wizards of the Coast announced the second product for Fall 2018, Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

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A video promotion from D&D Beyond (linked below) aired at the end of the Saturday events on the "Stream of Many Eyes" and was uploaded to YouTube shortly after. The book will be a megadungeon that runs from Level 6-20 that details 23 different levels to Undermountain each with their own feel and theme, along with a full detailing of Skullport. It's stated in the video that running the module with weekly sessions will take at least eight months. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage will be out November 13, 2018, with an MSRP of $49.95.

[video=youtube;wbVRQIOuI8s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbVRQIOuI8s[/video]
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This is the second product announced during the "Stream of Many Eyes" event on the Dungeons & Dragons Twitch channel. The event will continue on Sunday with celebrity games and potentially more product announcements from third-party companies like Gale Force Nine. The first product announced, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (along with a special dice set), were announced on Friday, June 1.

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[Weird Dave]

I am beyond excited for this. Megadungeons have always fascinated me, and Undermountain holds a special status as being one of the oldest D&D canon dungeons (in print back to 1991, and further back for Greenwood's personal games). However, I think the products released thus far have not capitalized on the playable aspects of Undermountain. Ruins of Undermountain (and II) were both such hodge-podge messes they were both very difficult to use, and certainly nothing to really run out of the box, and the Undermountain Dungeon Crawl modules felt disconnected from the core to the point where they were just generic stand-alone crawls. For me, the encounter format used by the latter modules in 3.5 did not serve Expedition to Undermountain very well, and as much as I personally didn't play 4E I did find Halls of Undermountain for 4E to be the most usable out of all the products. Give me interesting NPCs in the Yawning Portal, a storyline I could use if I wanted, and enough power groups to develop my own and I'll be happy. Halls came closest, and I'm hoping Dungeon of the Mad Mage pushes it over the line in terms of real campaign viability. I'm sold!

 

[EthanSental]

The Githyanki on the cover seems to hint that we are ready to move away from forgotten realms. My bet is 2019 is the year of Other World’s. Undermountain would be a fine capstone to their work in the Realms.

Plus with Skullport in undermountain, as many have stated in other thread, a jumping on point for spelljammer to other worlds.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

I know very little about Skullport but I’ll look it up now!

 

[Remathilis]

Pssst... Not everyone can.

Psst I run my own legal firm, husband and have kids. No time to do that....

If some other setting was getting all the love you'd be seeing fans of Forgotten Realms complaining. And they'd have a point. But instead you dismiss those who want to have 5e material available to them either from WotC or from DMs Guild.

To take your comment to its logical conclusion, WotC should not make adventures at all because "you can make up your own settings and stories." Would you be equally happy with 5e if it had no official adventures at all? Your statement says you would be.

This is like complaining you don't like the food you're being served, but won't cook for yourself. Either eat what's available, make your own, or starve. If you lack the time, energy or ability to make your own, then don't expect WotC to make exactly what your heart desires. WotC has been fairly consistent with its offerings: aside from two semi-off books (Strahd and Portal, both still having Realms tie-ins) all of their APs are set firmly in the Realms. To me, this perfectly mimics Paizo setting all of their APs in Golarion (which nobody complains about). Yeah, they've bandied about the names of Eberron, Spelljammer and Dark Sun, but at this point are we REALLY surprised that they are sticking with the Realms? I'm not. They've not even touched a 10th of that setting nor the genres they can emulate with it.

As for the DM's Guild, I'm patiently waiting for them to do some type of "multiverse" book that lays the baseline for many of the other worlds and then open them up to the DM's Guild. I think they want to control the core elements first though so as not to have 3000 unofficial warforged races out there. It also appears to be a much lower priority item than most thought it would be. It sucks, but again, either live with what you're given or go do your own thing.

 

[Aldarc]

This is like complaining you don't like the food you're being served, but won't cook for yourself. Either eat what's available, make your own, or starve. If you lack the time, energy or ability to make your own, then don't expect WotC to make exactly what your heart desires.

So your rebuttal is an easily debunked analogy and a strawman? Lovely.

To me, this perfectly mimics Paizo setting all of their APs in Golarion (which nobody complains about).

One rarely hears complaints about Paizo publishing for just Golarion because Paizo has only published Golarion and they only promise support for Golarion. So this is yet another terrible analogy.

It sucks, but again, either live with what you're given or go do your own thing.

False dichotomy.

 

[Rhylthar]

The Drow is Quenthel Baenre, according to what a lot of people are saying...

Won´t deny it.

I was thinking about the Promenade in Skullport. If I remember correctly there was a Shrine to Eilistraee.

 

[Remathilis]

So your rebuttal is an easily debunked analogy and a strawman? Lovely.

One rarely hears complaints about Paizo publishing for just Golarion because Paizo has only published Golarion and they only promise support for Golarion. So this is yet another terrible analogy.

False dichotomy.

Its tiring to see yet another "OMG Realmz Suxx!!!" every time we get a new book. Especially since D&D, unlike a video game or other media, is easily adaptable to whatever you actually want it to be. Change the names, adapt the setting to your preferred world, and don't sit here whining about how WotC won't do the work for you. It was a tired argument three APs ago.

 

[Bitbrain]

Is Halaster supposed to be a derro? They kept emphasizing him as a "Mad Mage", and he certainly has the grayish skin tone of the Derro.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

Is Halaster supposed to be a derro? They kept emphasizing him as a "Mad Mage", and he certainly has the grayish skin tone of the Derro.

I think he’s just been out of the sun a bit too long. Being dead for a while will do that

 

[TheSword]

You are totally right.

Thanks Publisher for having published a setting and a half in the last four years. We deserve no more.

Thanks Publisher for locking settings you don't care about from independent developing. We could ruin them with our childish and horrible ideas.

Thanks Publisher for producing 5E products about locations and settings well-supported in the last four editions. Desiring something else is sin.

Happiness, as usual, is mandatory.

Thanks Publisher.

Sorry, just remind me why on earth WOC should open up their IP for you to profit from? Why should they hand over their IP to you for free? Why should they give access to the IP when they intend to go there themselves given time?

Why don’t you publish your own work, instead of riding WOC’s coat tails?

My apologies if that seems snappy, I’m just getting tired of the entitlement from forum posters trashing WOC’s work for being too forgotten realms, while simultaneously complaining about not being able to plunder their other IP. It bemuses me.